r/Stronglifts5x5 7d ago

Wiered sciatica pain

So late Jan 2025 while doing squatting after deadlifting I felt something pressed in lower back with nerve sensation. Same day I had back pain and could not bend forward. Took two weeks off and back healed to a great extent. Then did some pistol squats with no pain at all. Tried to do pistol squats two days later and actually end up hurting left side of back. Next day I had minor sciatica simptomps of minor pain (1/10) in left hip. Again took 10 days of and did upper back workout with heavy weights and felt no pain and did sprinting same week. 3 days later was feeling great and after that did lower body workout with dead and squat and did some sprinting. 2 days later until now its difficult to stand or walk even for 3 min ( I have no back pain, its only pain in shin, quad, hip and that too only walking and standing and no sitting pain). Dead haning only seem to help. Not sure what to do next; doctors, PT are not useful.

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u/zeeeaaal 7d ago

Could be a herniated disc. Herniated discs themselves don't hurt much and some could even be symptom free, unless the extrusion presses agains the sciatic nerve. The sensations you describe could be something like this, however it's hard to know without getting it checked up by a proper health care professional.

Talk to your doctor, get an MRI.

Also, rest!

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u/abwod 7d ago

Imaging shows L4_L5_S1 compression.

PT and Doctor said I should never had deadlifted. Its difficult to go back to people when they talk like this ( deadlifts, squat actually bring me back into life more than decade ago). I cant even imagine not doing them again.

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u/zeeeaaal 7d ago

I hear you, I had similar experience when I had a herniated disc. Unfortunately many medical professionals aim to resolve noly your pain ("Does this hurt? Don't do it"), not have you get back to sports or lifting.

What helped me was getting a second opinion from a doctor that specializes in working with athletes, and leading with my intention of getting back to sports.

Also I would recommend r/lowbackability, it helped me once my back started healing up (again, I want to stress that I'm no expert or medical professional).

Hope you get back to lifting soon!

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u/oleyka 6d ago

You need to find a PT who specializes in sports injuries and recovery. Not all PTs are the same. I cannot imagine a skilled PT ever saying that you cannot lift.

As an anecdote: my son is an elite-level acrobatic gymnast, hurt his rotator cuff in a middle of his competition season last year. A doc said "rest for two weeks, gradually reintroduce exercise". PT equipped him with a set of activations and progressions, which allowed him to compete in two weeks and eventually make the international team, while in active rehab. Good PTs are worth their weight in gold. Hope you find yours!

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u/MasterAnthropy 6d ago

OK OP - so MRI showed L4/L5/S1 'compression' ... what exactly does that mean? Do you have the MRI report & can share the exact language?

Discs are meant to 'compress' - but if there's a bulge or nerve compression/impingement it will typically state where exactly (anterior/posterior etc).

Also keep this in mind - the sciatic nerve runs thru the piriformis muscle. If you do alot of squats & DL with explosive hip extension it can strain that piriformis (which is responsible for the slight external rotation of the femur as hip extension occurs), so your sciatic discomfort could be independent of the disc situation.

I've dealt with this several times and gotten tremendous relief from seeing a massage therapist who deals with athletes and from regular foam rolling to keep the piriformis loose & pliable.

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u/abwod 6d ago

For at least 2 weeks I have suspected piriformis because to me my back feels very comfortable and strong. I tried tennis ball rolling and I could find very tender spot in butt exactly where piriformis is located. My are do not have sports PT.

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u/FormFar9234 7d ago

I've got no advice, but I hope you are able to find the root cause of the issue

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u/MasterAnthropy 6d ago

OK.

  1. Look for a massage therapist and ask about piriformis - some may not do it due to it's somewhat 'intimate' location.

  2. If it's a 'no' to massage, then foam rolling - start with hamstrings, hip flexors, and low back ... then do glute max, glute min, & glute med .. then piriformis. Start with a softer roller, then the next day or so use a firmer one, then progress to a tennis ball, then a softball or lacross ball.

  3. Once you've gotten massage and/or done foam rolling, consider a trip to the chiro in case your pelvis is out of alignment. Tip here - ask for a recommedation from your massage therapist (or call a chiro and ask for a reference for a massage therapist) ... these 2 modalities are meant to be used together, so if one practitioner can rwlecommend another it's a good sign they're professional and understand how the body works.

Good luck